Exercise device



Sept. 27, 1938.

EXERCISE DEVICE Filed July 27, 1935 INVENTOR HERBERT E. RILEY,

A OR EY H. E. RILEY I 2,131,570

Patented Sept. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES I V EXERCISE DEVICE Herbert E. Riley, New York, NY.

Application July 27,

9 Claims.

toward and from the knees, with or without the action of a spring, is well known as an aid to general body health. Heretofore'such devices have generally been limited in scope of usefulness to the intended exercise. Another objection to such prior devices has been that they are bulky, cumbersome and expensive. According to this invention these objections have been eliminated and an attractive exercise device provided, which can not only be sold at a reasonable price, but has its field of usefulness enlarged to permit its use in simulation of a weight lifting machine and also as a rowing machine.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1,

30 having additional handle attachments in position for use as a rowing machine.

Fig. 3 is a View of a portion of the reel housing showing the tension member and spring.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of another embodi- 35'. ment of this invention.

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 4.

The base Ill preferably slopes downwardly toward the reel and such base may be made of wood,

' molded plastics, metal stamping or it may be an aluminum die casting, for example. A sponge rubber knee pad H is set in a recess in the-top of the base and the walls of this recess preferably have their sides inclined outwardly or undercut in order to assist in holding said sponge rubber pad in place. It will be understood that appropriate adhesive is also used to hold the sponge rubber'pad in position. The slight inclination given the base also assists in keeping the '50 pad in position.

In the forward portion of the base is secured a plate l2 and'this plate has mounted thereon a ring [3, which is adapted for angular displace- 1935, Serial No. 33,517 (01. 272-72) is adapted for angular displacement in a vertical plane. A tension member l6, preferably of fabric material, is wound on the reel ll and within the reel is a spiral spring l8 adapted to wind up the tape upon the reel when pressure 15161831886. from the tension member. The central axis or spindle I9 is keyed to the. reel housing' 'by the flatside indicated so that one end of the spiral spring is attached to this spindle l9 and the other end of the spring is fastened to the reel .l'l. On the; outer end of the tension member IB-is placed 'a quick detachable or snap fastener Zlladapted to engage an eyelet 23 on a non-rotatable rod or handle bar 22, on the outer ends of which are placed hand grips 2 I. Rollers 24 are freely rotatable on the bar 22 but are mounted against longitudinal displacement along the bar, these rollers preferably having an anti-friction or rubber-like tread so that when they are movedover the floor there is little or no tendency for them to slip sidewise. Y When an operator kneels upon the pad II and grips the hand grips 2|, the device of Fig. 1 may be used as a body-stretching exerciser by moving the: grips as far in front as the user feels he may conveniently do and then the body is raised by pulling the hand grips and rollers toward the knee pad. This body-stretching exercise is particularly beneficial to the lower abdominal muscles adjacent the intestines with the result that it is beneficial in cases of constipation I and other ailments- As long as the tension member I6 is fastened to the handle bar 22,'the spring l8 assists in retracting the rollers toward the knee pad. If desired, after the user becomes proficient, the tension member may be detached from the handle bar 22 with the result that considerably more of an elfort is necessary to retract the rollers toward the knee pad in this bodyg stretching exercise.

Another use for the device of Fig. 1 is as a weight-lifting machine, when the operator-may stand upon the knee pad II and on bending over and grasping they handle grips 2|, he may raise them substantially straight upto any convenient. height desired. Inthis vertical movement of the handle grips the reel housing will be moved about its pivot 14 until the tension member pull-out is in the direct-line of force. .Generally the spring I8 acts to more strongly-oppose the force pulling out the tension member l6, -the further it is pulled out.

A noteworthy advantage of t e device shown in sidewise a slight amount or any desired amount to couple the body-stretching with a twist. In order to direct the rollers at a slight angle to their normal path of movement it is only necessary to manually shift the hand grips until they are substantially normal to the direction in which it is desired the wheels 24 shall travel. For such slight side movements the non-slip tread surfaces of the wheels 24 assist in the prevention of their slipping on the floor should it be a waxed or. polished surface. In moving the handle bars slightly to the side as just described, the ring 13 will turn with respect to the plate l2 so that the reel housing may at all times be substantially normal to the direction of the handle bars. The ease and facility with which the handle bars may be directed either straight out or somewhat to either side, without the use of any track or guide means is believed to be a worthwhile feature of this invention. V p

By attaching additional hand grips 25 and helical springs 26 to the eyes 21 on the handle bars, the device of Fig. 1 may be adapted to function as a rowing machine, in which case the user sits upon the. knee pad H with his feet upon the handle bar 22 as a foot rest and then by grasping the hand grips 25, the foot rest may be moved relativeto the seat and at the same time the handgrips moved'to simulate a rowing action. The hand grips 25 and their coil springs 26 are preferably quickly detachable to or from the eyes 21 by means of snap fasteners 28 or some other type of quick detachable fasteners.

In Fig. 4 is shown another embodiment'of this invention in which the knee pad 29 is elevated from the floor a little more than is the case in Fig. 1, so that a foot rest 30 may be formed at the side thereof. A hook 3| on the combined knee pad and foot rest is adapted to engage a cooperative recess in the frame 32 of the machine so that the frame and knee pad may be coupled together for use. The frame of the machine includes a pair of channel members 33 bent down at their ends 34 so as to have the channels raised about 2 inches from the floor. Transverse bracing members are secured to the down-turned ends 34 to' give the frame rigidity. The seat 35 is mounted on rollers 45,not shown in full lines handle grips 35 which are out of the way and not used when the device'is used as a rowing machine. A number of helical. springs 3! aresecured at one end to one of the transverse frame members and at their other end to one of the yokes 33, which are not fixed to the seat 35. At pair of additional hand grips 39 are quickly detachable by snap fasteners40 to tension members 4|, which may or may not be elastic but preferably are not elastic. Each of the tension members is anchored at one end to the machine frame by the eyelet 42. Each tension member then passes around a pulley 43 on a yoke member 38 and thence around another pulley 44 secured to the machine frame adjacent the foot rest 39, and thence to the handle grips 39.

When used as a rowing machine the operator 1 sits on the seat 35 with his feet against the foot rest 30 and grasps the handle grips 39 simulating the rowing movements, the pull upon the hand grips 39 is opposed by the springs 31.

When the machine of Fig. 4 is to be used as a kneeling and body-stretching exerciser, the operator kneels on the pad 29 and grasps the handle grips 36 after the hand grips 39 have been detached by the snap fasteners 40 and the tension members 4i attached to the seat, either to an eyelet shown on the under side of the seat 35, or to a perforation through the seat. With the seat thus connected to the tension members it will be understood that the seat is initially much closer to the knee pad 29 than it is in the position illustrated in Fig. 4. As soon as pressure is applied to the hand grips 36 and the seat moves away from the knee pad, the springs 31 stretch as the yokes 38 move oppositely to the seat and increase the force opposing continued movement of the seat. In order to increase the efiiectiveness of the springsgand sometimes, if desired, to do away with the springs, the seat 35 may be mounted on channels which slope upwardly and away from the knee pad or foot rest so that an increased effort is necessary in raising and pushing the seat up somewhat of an incline or hill.

Another use of the device of Fig. 4 contemplates the detachment of the combined knee pad 29 and foot rest 39 from the frame 32 of the machine by means of the connection 3|. The machine frame may be then stood on either end with the Chan nels in a substantially vertical position against a wall. Preferably both the top and bottom of the machine may be fastened to the wall when the frame is vertically arranged. If the end of the machine c'o'ntaining'the 'pulley44 is'adjacent when the machine frame is placed upright. If

the pulleys 44 are arranged at the top with the machine upright, then the device may simulate a weight-lifting type exerciser with a top puller. While it is preferable to secure both-ends of the machine against the wall, it will be understood that due to the outward thrust of the tension members exerted through the pulleys 44, at least that end of the machine frame adjacent the pulleys 44 should be fastened to the wall against outward movement.

Among the advantages of this invention may be mentioned the provision of an exercise device which is especially economical of space and weight in the form shown in Fig; 1. The type of exerciser shown in Fig. 4, in which the handle .grips are attached to a sliding seat 34 need not necessarily be used with any track or guides for the seat, since the seat 35 may be mounted on rollers having friction treads after the manner of the rollers 24 in Fig. 1.

If desired, the springs of each embodiment of the invention herein illustrated may be adjustable according to the type of user and the tension desired to be exerted. The device of Fig. 1- has no guide rail and therefore a'greater freedom of movement in a horizontal direction, as well as greater freedom of movement in a vertical plane without the necessity of shifting any guideway or track for the rollers 24. It will be understood,

rowing machine according to the layout in Fig. 2,-

it will be understood that the feet are preferably located between the eyes 21 and the central eye 23. The reel housing being universally mounted, is quickly adapted to properly position itself for almost any direction in which the tension member may be pulled out. The reel housing alsokeeps out dust and is conducive to space economy. The tape or tension member l6 as it passes out of the housing 15 engages loose guide pulleys on each side of it so that it is immaterial in which direction from the housing the tape is pulled.

I claim:

1. An exercise device comprising av seat, a foot rest, handle grips mounted outside some one of the foregoing parts of the device, rollers between said handle grips for sup-porting the same, said handle grips being adapted for use of the device in body-stretching when kneeling, a connection between said foot rest and seat, additional handle grips, a tension member detachably secured to said additional handle grips and connected adjacent said foot rest, and a retractile spring opposing a stress on said additional handle grips when the device isused as a rowing machine.

2. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, a base therefor, a rotatable substantially horizontal ring secured to said base, a spring reel and housing pivotally mounted on said ring for movement of the housing in vertical and horizontal planes, a tension member on said reel, hand grips to which said tension member may be secured, a bar spacing said hand grips, and laterally spaced rollers on said bar for supporting said hand grips as they are moved over the floor, said base and pad sloping downwardly toward said ring and reel. i

3. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, a base therefor, spaced and connected hand grips, rollers on which said grips are mounted, a flexible tension member connected to said hand grips and knee pad, a spring opposing movement of said flexible tension member and hand grips away from said knee pad, said rollers being adapted to roll over the floor without any guide therefor other than the users hands on said grips, whereby the rollers may be moved in different directions away from said knee pad at all times under resistance of said spring.

4. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, spaced and connected hand grips, a roller on which said grips are mounted to be rolled over the floor toward and from said pad, a spring cooperating with said pad and grips and pivotally mounted with respect to the pad, whereby said grips may be moved in different horizontal directions toward and from said pad, said pad having a slope toward the floor and hand grips.

5. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, spaced and connected hand grips, a roller on which said grips are mounted to be rolled over the floor toward and from said pad, a spring cooperating with said pad and grips and pivotally mounted with respect to the pad, whereby said grips may be moved in different horizontal direcsaid hand grips, a flexible tension member between said spring and rod, and attachments en-' abling said device to simulate a rowing machine, said attachments including additional hand grips secured to said rod with a spring between the rod and each of the additional hand grips.

6. An exercise machine comprising a knee pad,

a rod, spaced and connected hand grips on said rod, a roller on said rod, a flexible tension member detachably secured to said rod, a retractile spring between said tension member and knee pad, a reel on which the tension member is adaptwhen the user kneels on the pad' and movessaid grips toward and from the pad, or said machine tions toward and from said pad, a rod connecting,

may be used to simulate a weight-lifting type exerciser by pulling up on said tension member, or said machine may be used to simulate a rowing machine type exerciser by sitting on said pad with the feet on said rod.

7. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, a reel having a flexible tension member constructed to be unwound from said reel, a spring for revwinding said tension member. on the reel upon release of pressure on the tension member, a base for said knee pad, a pair of hand grips to which said flexible tension member is secured and a universal connection between the reel and base to permit the tension member pull-out to occur in different directions in either a horizontal or av vertical plane relative to said base.

8. An exercise device comprising a knee pad, a base below the knee pad, a reel, a pivotal connection below said reel and between said reel and base for mounting the reel above the base, a flexible tension member wound on said reel, a spring V for opposing the pulling out of said tension mem! ber and rewinding the same on the reel upon release of pressure on the tension'member, a laterally extending bar to which said tension member is connected, spaced rollers on said bar, hand grips on said bar, whereby said bar may be moved over the floor in different directions in any part of its travel toward or from the reel and knee pad.

9. An exercise device comprising a seat, a rest against which the feet may be placed when sitting on the seat for simulation of rowing movements, handles between said seat and foot rest,

spring means connected to the handles for oppos- 1 ing their movement away from the foot rest when the device is used as a rowing machine, roller mounted hand grips on one of the first two mounted elements for use in body stretching, and spring means opposing relative separation of 'the seat and foot rest during body stretching when kneeling adjacent one of them.

HERBERT E. RILEY. 

